What?
As Neji Hyūga slashed his blade, a thick, viscous, ink-black liquid was flung from the weapon towards Hyūga Kawa and the other two!
The black liquid rapidly twisted, morphed, and condensed in the air, ultimately transforming into several demonic apparitions with faces contorted in pain!
They were composed entirely of pitch-black negative spiritual energy, radiating a repulsive, cold, and venomous aura, letting out extremely piercing shrieks as they lunged at Hyūga Kawa!
"What?!"
Recognizing the face of Homura Hyūga among the apparitions, Hyūga Aoi's pupils couldn't help but contract.
This was another ability of 'Wrath.'
Just as Neji Hyūga had previously chanted: "All consumed by the fire of Karma, repaying their long-standing debt, bordering on becoming beasts."
Any soul judged and purified by its fire of Karma would not have the purest "evil" deep within its being entirely vanish. Instead, that "evil" would be absorbed and stored by 'Wrath.'
The wielder could release and command this "evil" at any time.
Even after their bodies died, these souls found no rest. They would be enslaved and driven like beasts until even the last trace of their spiritual essence completely died.
Facing the several black "demons" that radiated a cold aura and lunged with gnashing teeth and claws, Hyūga Kawa and Hyūga Aoi's expressions changed, and they reacted almost simultaneously.
Hyūga Kawa executed a fierce flourish with the ring-pommel sabre in his hand. Chakra coated the blade, which tore through the air, slashing at the "demon" charging at the front.
Hyūga Aoi also endured the lingering, stinging sensation of the Karma fire on her body. Coating her palms with Chakra, she violently slapped forward!
Pfft! Pshh!
Both of their attacks hit their targets.
However, Hyūga Kawa's blade felt as though it had sliced into thick liquid. Although it easily cleaved the demon in half, the separated black liquid did not dissipate; instead, it immediately began to re-aggregate.
The same was true for Hyūga Aoi; her palms felt like they had struck a mire. The demons' forms contorted but instantly returned to their original state.
In this moment of hesitation, the several black "demons" were already upon them, dissolving into viscous black streams that wrapped around their bodies, bringing an icy chill to the bone!
Hyūga Kawa's weapon arm and lower abdomen, and Hyūga Aoi's legs and neck were quickly bound and restricted by the thick, cold black streams.
The flow of Chakra became sluggish, instantly halting both of their movements.
At this moment, Neji Hyūga did not hesitate. He retracted 'Wrath', his Chakra erupting around him, and his figure shot up like a ghost.
He rapidly fled along the massive breach in the ground that Hyūga Kawa had violently blown open to the surface, showing no intention of getting further entangled with the two!
"Neji Hyūga!!"
Seeing him depart so decisively, Hyūga Kawa threw his head back and let out a furious roar, his voice echoing madly within the collapsing secret chamber.
Accompanying this roar, an invisible yet vast and immense force suddenly erupted from Hyūga Kawa's center!
BOOM!!
A powerful repulsive force swept across everything around him with irresistible momentum!
The black streams clinging tightly to his body couldn't withstand this force for even a thousandth of a second, instantly exploding into countless droplets of black liquid!
The entire secret chamber violently trembled. The surrounding debris and wreckage were pushed outward by this sudden force, clearing a massive circular open space!
"This..."
Hyūga Aoi stumbled back a few steps, staring at Hyūga Kawa's figure, faintly visible through the dust, her face deeply shaken, her heart pounding madly!
Is this the power of the Tenseigan?
He actually activated the Tenseigan?!
In the dust, Hyūga Kawa stood still, breathing heavily. He looked down at his own hands in confusion, his brow tightly furrowed, seemingly not comprehending what had just happened.
But quickly, he lifted his head abruptly. The profound and cold azure light in his eyes locked onto the breach where Neji Hyūga had vanished.
"Look after Hinata."
Hyūga Kawa slightly turned his head and spoke gravely to Hyūga Aoi behind him: "Immediately go find Iroha Hyūga and have him cooperate fully with you to rally all the clan members who can still move."
"Figure out exactly what happened, compile a list of survivors and... the deceased, maintain order, and calm the people."
With that, he took a deep breath, took one last look at the ravaged, blood-spattered secret chamber, a flash of complex pain crossing his eyes.
"This place is left to you."
As Neji Hyūga had already left, the liquid binding Hyūga Aoi disintegrated. She quickly reached out and grabbed Hyūga Kawa's arm, asking, "What are you going to do?"
Hyūga Kawa slowly turned to look at her, and that single glance caused Hyūga Aoi's pupils to tremble.
Anger, pain, hatred...
These emotions were starkly visible in his azure-tinged eyes.
"The Hyūga Clan is not the only target of the attack," Hyūga Kawa stated. "Konoha is too."
"This was a planned and prepared attack; Neji Hyūga could never have done this alone."
As the words left his mouth, his wings unfolded behind him and violently flapped downward.
Whoosh!
A powerful current of air exploded from him, kicking up the ground dust, and Hyūga Kawa's figure instantly vanished from the spot.
Only a streak of white light, tearing through the air and moving with a speed too fast for the naked eye to track, shot into the sky!
Aftermath
In the secret chamber, the aftershocks from the flapping wings slowly subsided. The air was filled with a heavy scent of blood and an indescribable sense of despair.
Hinata Hyūga's body, slumped on the ground, was still trembling uncontrollably.
The continuous horror, the shock of her father's brutal death, and Neji Hyūga's icy murderous intent had almost completely shattered her spirit.
Yet, in this dead silence, as if remembering something, she struggled, using her trembling arms to push herself up, taking a staggering step forward.
"Father..." an extremely weak whisper escaped her cracked lips.
The second step... the third step...
Her pace quickened. From the initial faltering stumble, it gradually turned into a frantic, headlong run.
On her face, streaked with tears and dust, her previously gentle and timid eyes now held only a nearly obsessive urgency.
Behind her, Hyūga Aoi instinctively raised her hand, her lips slightly parted, as if to call out to her, to stop her from witnessing the sight that would surely break her completely.
But the words were firmly choked in her throat.
Finally, Hyūga Aoi's parted lips sealed shut. She stood still, watching Hinata Hyūga's stumbling silhouette rush toward the inner part of the chamber.
"WAAAAAH!"
After a moment of dead silence, a heartbreaking wail of agony suddenly erupted from the chamber—so sharp, so sorrowful, so filled with grief.
Hyūga Aoi's body violently flinched at the sound. She slowly closed her eyes, as if unable to bear listening, and let her raised hand fall weakly, clenching it tightly into a fist.
How?
How could it have come to this?
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